10 Minutes with Ex-Le Mans Driver John Morton

We sit down with a nine-time Le Mans driver to get his take on racing and the era that raised him

These cars
would tell a story if they could talk, but all they can do is roar.

The Monterey Motorsports Reunion race is one of the highlights of Monterey Car Week, featuring
vintage cars from every marque going full out on the famous Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas,
California. Watching someone race through the legendary Corckscrew is one thing, but actually
experiencing it for yourself is another. Although your author has taken to the track numerous times,
piloting a vintage race car in a competitive sprint and participating in a racing school behind the wheel of
modern technology are wildly different undertakings.

We set out to speak with a participant within this year's Monterey Motorsports Reunion that
successfully raced these vehicles before they were considered "vintage." While walking through the
rows and rows of beautiful race cars we happened to find one such racer who has more experience than
most anyone at the Reunion. John Morton is a nine-time Le Mans driver among other series and was
willing to give us a few minutes of his time fresh off the track.

Morton started sports car racing in 1963 and is still going strong today. Racing almost anything you can
think of, Morton doesn't have a preference, just as long as he gets to drive it. Like some of us, his
obsession started because of his dad, who took him to the Midget races. From there he decided he wanted to race sports cars.

It ['40 Ford Jalopy] wasn't much, but it was enough to ruin my grades.

The very first sports car Morton raced was a Lotus Super 7 in 1963. But even before then he also had
raced a '40 Ford Jalopy on dirt tracks during college. "It wasn't much, but it was enough to ruin my
grades," he stated.

He then set focus on racing Le Mans, one of the best-known and most exciting four-wheeled races on
the planet. Accomplishing that goal occurred. Driving it nine times, Morton described it as "thrilling" and
"my favorite." He also mentioned that it is an event like the Indy 500 - one rich with prestige, history and
a large fan base. "Getting to go there is a big deal, my favorite place to go race," he recalled.

Getting to go there [Le Mans] is a big deal, my favorite place to go race.

Out of all the tracks he had driven, Morton named just a few that stood out: Road America, Laguna Seca
and Watkins Glen. But his favorite race was at Riverside, a CA track that no longer exists. It's no wonder
Morton chose the 1987 race at Riverside because it was the very last Times Grand Prix before the track
closed for good. He also won that race.

Past that final race at Riverside something else noteworthy occurred. Morton originally came out
to California to attend Carroll Shelby's racing school. Soon, Shelby gave him a job and he started to
become more involved in the racing scene. Morton even recalls the car he drove at Shelby's school as
the very first prototype Cobra (in 1962). At the time Morton did not see or appreciate the significance of
this, but today he remembers it fondly.

When we asked what he thought about the Historic races here at Laguna Seca, he explained, "These cars
would tell a story if they could talk, but all they can do is roar." Couldn't have put it better ourselves.